We hope you find “Grasshoppers of Nebraska” to be a helpful resource in learning more about Nebraska grasshoppers. This PDF provides you with not only links to each grasshopper by common name, but clicking on each species description’s map or plate will take you to the appropriate map (to see the species distribution pattern) or plate (to see a four-color graphic of the grasshopper). At any time, use the square button box to return to the grasshopper you’ve chosen to view. If you need to navigate elsewhere in the site, such as to the glossary or index, use the bookmarks on the left side of the site. Note: Because this publication was originally designed as a print document, page numbers referenced in the index correspond to page numbers on the book page, rather than page numbers shown in the browser toolbar. EB3 (Orthoptera: Acrididae and Romaleidae) Mathew L. Brust, Assistant Professor, Biology, Chadron State College; W. Wyatt Hoback, Professor, Biology, University of Nebraska at Kearney; and Robert J. Wright, Extension Entomology Specialist The Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae and Romaleidae) of Nebraska Mathew L. Brust, W. Wyatt Hoback, and Robert J. Wright This material was made possible, in part, by a Cooperative Agreement from the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). It may not necessarily express APHIS' views. © 2008, The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska on behalf of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension. All rights reserved. The Grasshoppers of Nebraska i Acknowledgments We would like to thank many people for contributing to this field guide. We owe special thanks to all of the field personnel at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PPQ) in Lincoln, Nebraska for contributing material for photography. These people include Dale Widhalm, Shari Jensen, Ralph Soles, “Sarge” (Gary) Thorson, Gary Kluch, Sean Whipple, and “Lee” (Francis) Hircock. We thank Bruce Shambaugh at USDA-APHIS-PPQ in Wyoming, Jim Thurman at USDA-APHIS-PPQ in Colorado, and Glen Salsbury at the Kansas Department of Agriculture for contributing specimens for photography as well. We also thank Steve Spomer and Brett Morgan at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for contributing material. We thank our other USDA- APHIS-PPQ personnel for their contribution, including Tim Miller, Vicki Wohlers, Nicole Haxton, and Twila Seaman. We especially thank Steve Johnson at USDA-APHIS-PPQ for his insights, motivation, and enthusiasm in this work. We also thank Warren Drummond, Laura O’Gan, and Dan Hofer for generating the distribution maps. We thank Brett Ratcliffe at the University of Nebraska State Museum for allowing access to the collections. Finally we thank USDA-APHIS-PPQ and the University of Nebraska for providing funding for this project. The Grasshoppers of Nebraska iii Table of Contents Introduction �����������������������������������������������������1 Grasshopper Anatomy . 5 Species Accounts �������������������������������������������������7 Plates �����������������������������������������������������������53 Nebraska Map ���������������������������������������������������91 Maps �����������������������������������������������������������92 Whitewhiskers Density Map 2005-2007 . 119 Glossary ���������������������������������������������������������121 References �������������������������������������������������������122 Index �����������������������������������������������������������129 The Grasshoppers of Nebraska v Introduction As of 2008, 108 species of short-horned grasshoppers (Acrididae and Romaleidae) were known to occur in Nebraska. While grasshoppers are, in general, considered damaging to rangeland and crops, only a handful of Nebraska’s species have been known to cause damage, and several species might be considered beneficial as they consume weedy plants, some of which may be toxic to livestock. The diet of Nebraska’s grasshoppers encompasses a large number of plant species. Within the Acrididae, a large group of species, particularly the sub- family Gomphocerinae, feed exclusively on grasses and sedges, and these are the species that are most likely to damage rangeland. The bandwings (subfamily Oedipodinae) are known for having colorful hind wings, and as a whole, feed on both grasses and forbs. Some band- wings are more preferential to grasses and others to forbs. Among Nebras- ka’s bandwings, only one species, Pardalophora haldemani, has been shown to cause considerable damage to rangeland in the state. While Pardalophora apiculata was also present in the same areas during the P. haldemani out- break, it occurred at much lower densities. The subfamily Melanoplinae consists of the spur-throated grasshoppers. These are named for spur-like extensions on the prosternum, which is located on the ventral side between the front pair of legs. The spur- throats tend to feed more often on forbs than grasses, but some species will consume grasses readily if forbs are unavailable. At least one spe- cies in this group, Melanoplus sanguinipes, is known to cause damage to rangeland in Nebraska. Several other species, including Melanoplus bivittatus, M. differentialis, M. femurrubrum and Melanoplus sanguinipes, are known to damage crops. A few species in this group may also feed on shrubs and trees. The bird grasshoppers (subfamily Cyrtacanthacridinae) are represented in Nebraska by only three species, and only two appear to breed in the state. These species feed on a variety of forbs, shrubs, and trees. The family Romaleidae (lubber grasshoppers) is represented in Nebraska by a single large species. This species prefers to feed on sunflower and sagebrush and is unlikely to damage rangeland. The Grasshoppers of Nebraska 1 The large number of grasshopper species occurring in Nebraska is likely the result of several ecological zones converging within the state. Annual precipitation ranges from over 86 cm in the southeastern corner of the state to less than 40 cm in the westernmost areas. This results in a num- ber of ecological zones in the state, including deciduous forest, and large expanses of tallgrass, mixed-grass, and shortgrass prairie (Omernik 1987; Omernik 1995; Bailey 1995). In high elevation areas such as in the Pine Ridge (over 1500 m) a few western mountain-dwelling species occur. As a result of these various habitats, Nebraska is home to species typical of eastern woodlands as well as semi-arid western habitats. The number of species known to occur in Nebraska is likely to change in the future. Many species may have limited distributions and/or preferred habitats and may be difficult to detect. In the span of four years (2005 through 2008), seven species not previously recorded from Nebraska in the last 100 years were found to occur here. These include Boopedon gracile Rehn, Encoptolophus subgracilis Caudell, Melanoplus bispinosus Scudder, Melanoplus borealis (Fieber), Melanoplus punctulatus Scudder, Paraty- lotropidia brunneri Scudder, Psinidia fenestralis (Serville). While Boopedon gracile was newly recorded for the state in 2007, two specimens had been collected over 50 years ago but were misidentified. This species has since been found at several additional locations. The reason that species such as these may have been overlooked in the past appears to be related to early or late seasonal adult activity, habitat specialization, a preference for habitats other than rangeland, or difficulty of identification. At least one member of Nebraska’s grasshopper fauna disappeared long ago. The Rocky Mountain locust (Melanoplus spretus (Walsh)), which once ravaged the central United States in enormous swarms, went extinct (but see Lockwood, 2004) around 1900, and specimens are extremely rare in collections. The reasons for its disappearance have been controversial, but it is thought that human activities were involved. We picture the species in this book. In order to make this field guide easier to use for the amateur, we have included common names wherever possible. The common names were derived from several sources, but most were taken from Helfer (1987) and Pfadt (2002). While many of these common names are not officially ac- cepted by the Entomological Society of America, it is hoped they will be useful for reference. 2 The Grasshoppers of Nebraska This field guide includes text covering all grasshopper species (Acrididae and Romaleidae) which have been recorded in Nebraska over the past 110 years. Unfortunately, it does not include some species reported from Nebraska prior to 1900. Bruner (1897) lists several grasshopper species from Nebraska which are not included in this guide. In Bruner’s manu- script, distribution data were not given, and we did not have access to the specimens to determine the location of the collection. In some cases, it is thought that some species were misidentified, and in other, the species name is no longer valid. The following lists three of those species named by Bruner which might occur in Nebraska. It includes quotes from Bruner’s manuscript (Bruner 1897). Metaleptea brevicornis (Johannson) “...found on low grounds along streams in the eastern part of Nebraska where it is quite rare (Bruner 1897)”. Dendrotettix quercus Packard “...occurs only in oak groves in the extreme southeastern part of the state. (Bruner 1897)”. Melanoplus viridipes Scudder “Found only occasionally in woods along the Missouri River (Bruner 1897)”. In this guide, the text for